By Brett Poirier
Journal Pioneer
SUMMERSIDE – With the Canadian Seniors Curling Championship days away, ice preparations are underway at the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club.
Teams from across Canada will begin arriving Wednesday for the tournament that begins on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Along with national tournaments comes world-renowned icemakers, and that exclusive group includes Chris Tapley, an ice technician from Fredericton, N.B.
Certified icemaker Chris Tapley cleans a rock before testing the ice in preparation for the National Seniors Curling Championships being held in Summerside starting this weekend.
Brett Poirier/Journal Pioneer photo
His work starts days, even weeks before a tournament begins and continues until everyone has left the rink.
“I spend countless hours on the ice some days,” he said. “It’s a balancing act to get the ice game ready and sometimes that means long days to stay on top of it.”
The P.E.I. teams competing consist of Nola Murphy, Donna Arsenault, Elspeth Carmody and Laurie Tyrone on the female team. The men’s roster includes Rod MacDonald, John Likely, Mark O’Rourke and Peter MacDonald.
The P.E.I. female team will open at 10 a.m. Saturday with a game against Alberta, the men will also play Alberta in the following game beginning at 2:30 p.m.